We have known for years about the power of the mind… it is called the placebo effect. It is fascinating that you can give a group of people a sugar pill, a saline injection or a fake procedure and 30% of the group will accept, believe and surrender to the thought that they are actually getting the real treatment. They begin to program their autonomic nervous system to create the exact pharmacy of chemicals equal to the substance or treatment they THINK they are getting. Their mind creates physiological changes in the body and creates a beneficial effect. Is this healing effect coming from the inert substance (the placebo) they are getting or from the bodies innate ability to heal itself?
There are studies where cancer patients are given chemotherapy treatment. One half of the group got the chemotherapy treatment and another half of the group (the placebo group) thought they were getting chemotherapy but actually were receiving an IV of saline. At the end of the treatment cycle, 30% of the placebo group ACTUALLY LOST THEIR HAIR because they THOUGHT they were getting the chemotherapy treatment. They lost their hair because of the power in their belief they were receiving the treatment.
With the power of belief, we have the ability to heal ourselves from the disease. This is a powerful concept that must be honored and implemented when we seek to better our health and our lives. It proves how important it is to eliminate our negative, limiting beliefs in order to have the most successful outcome. If we believe we can not change, then we have dramatically reduced our ability to be successful before we even start.
How do we change our limiting beliefs, remove our fears of failure and create positive beliefs?
We often are thinking when we are trapped in fear is the statement “What if….. followed by a negative statement.
What if….. I can’t be consistent with my new routines?
What if… I spend all this money on joining a gym and never go?
What if… I have to cook to eat healthier? I hate cooking.
Try switching this statement around.
What if you completed those sentences with something positive? What if amazing things can happen with this change? What if I can get the results I have always wanted in my health? What if this is the shift I will make to finally change my habits into something sustainable? Then we start to find hope, motivation, willpower.
If you want to shift your mindset then you must start by identifying your negative patterns and limiting beliefs. Then take a moment to question the truth of those limiting beliefs statements. Ask yourself if the beliefs you hold about yourself are actually true? Allow your intuition to answer this question with either a YES or a NO only. Most of the time you will realize that the answer to most of these statements are not true and not fact. You have made a choice to believe in the story you are telling about yourself. Start looking for evidence to the contrary of those negative beliefs.
For example, if I believe I am overweight because I come from a family with a history of obesity. Ask yourself the question “Is it ABSOLUTELY TRUE that I am overweight because my parents were overweight? Is there any possibility that this fact I believe about myself is not true? Is there evidence to support that I am overweight because I don’t make healthy lifestyle choices and if I were to commit to learning new behaviors that I could lose weight and be healthier?
Believe in your ability to be successful. Visualize what you want and how you want to feel and spend time supporting the good feelings you have about your goals rather than doubting yourself. Visualize how it will feel when you cross the finish line at your first 5K road race or how proud you will feel when you cook healthy meals each week and the abundance of energy you feel through nourishing yourself properly.
By Susanne Duato